Mal’s Panels Tell Stories

Sometimes even old friends can surprise you. Who knew that Mal Riley, meteorologist, journalist and master of the Lady Nelson here in Hobart, was also dab hand at graphic design? We’ve been reading Mal’s column on meteorological phenomena in AFLOAT Magazine for years. His descriptions of waves and wind and tide are essential reading for yachts. He’s well known around the Hobart docks as a popular skipper on the replica Lady Nelson, and since retiring from the Bureau of Meteorology, he’s been travelling the world chasing adventures on tall ships.

Mal came up with a fine idea for the next MyState Australian Wooden Boat Festival – a series of display panels featuring some of the extraordinary wooden ships that have gone before us. And who’s going to research the stories, track down the illustrations and lay out these panels? Well, Mal is of course.

We are expecting to have as many as a dozen of these historical panels ready for display at the next festival. Look for them in different locations around the festival site. And if you are impressed, give Mal a clap on the back – he won’t be hard to find!